Neighbors shaken after natural gas explosion injures 3 in Gulfport. ‘You just heard boom’

A natural gas explosion Tuesday afternoon injured three people at a Gulfport apartment complex and left more than a dozen shaken residents scrambling to find a place to stay while the fire department investigates, authorities said.

Two people in critical condition were flown to a burn center in Mobile, Gulfport Fire Chief Billy Kelley said. A third person was injured — but not in critical condition — and will be flown to a burn center in New Orleans out of precaution.

Authorities were called just after 2 p.m. to the explosion at 28th Street and 26th Avenue and found the building burning and the air filled with thick smoke, Kelley said. Residents of the 14-unit Evergreen Apartments said they fled and tried to help injured neighbors, then waited on curbs for hours Tuesday afternoon as officials closed two blocks on 28th Street and extinguished the fire.

“It was horrible,” said Ashley Vaughn, who moved in two months ago. “You just heard boom.”

It is unclear what caused the explosion, but Kelley said the fire department is investigating whether there was a gas leak. He said the property owner had been installing natural gas lines and recently started connecting them to units. The property owner did not immediately return phone calls to the Sun Herald.

The explosion began in one unit and apparently blew the wall out of another. The three people injured were staying together in Unit 13, where Kelley said the explosion hit. Firefighters at the scene went in and out of a door that had been burned black. Much of the building’s siding and roof was mangled.

Vaughn was outside when she heard the explosion. She said she saw smoke and flames and kept trying to get neighbors out of the building before firefighters arrived. One disoriented person climbed out a window, she said. She helped two people into an ambulance.

Vaughn said her husband tried to comfort a neighbor’s injured dog, whose back and nose was burned.

“I’m basically just heartbroken,” she said as she stood in a nearby parking lot, waiting for news and holding her whimpering Yorkipoo named Millie. “It’s traumatizing.”

The Evergreen Apartments at 2524 28th St. in Gulfport were built in 1940 and are valued at $623,900, according to Zillow. Residents said the one bedroom, one bath units hold up to three people each. It is unclear how many people currently live there.

Patrick Treadaway, who lives in Unit 10, said he had just returned from Circle K and started watching LSU play Baylor in the Texas Bowl when he heard the boom. He jumped up and called 911, then rushed outside and started helping his neighbors leave. He said he wrapped a towel around an injured neighbor’s arm in the chaos.

Across the street, Thuy Tran was serving customers at Blazin Cajun Seafood when the explosion echoed through the restaurant. Everyone turned and looked at the apartments. Authorities soon asked customers to evacuate. “It was really crazy,” she said.

Treadaway, 62, was standing on the street for hours until authorities told him and other residents after 4:30 p.m. that they could retrieve their belongings. He said he would probably spend the night with family nearby. Kelley said the Red Cross was helping other neighbors find places to stay.

Kelley said two units are “total losses” and one is badly damaged with smoke. Authorities shut the power and gas off at the property. Kelley said Center Point Energy is sending a forensics team Wednesday morning and authorities expect most units will be habitable later in the day.

Treadaway said he had lived at the Evergreen Apartments for five years.

He does not know if he wants to return.

“The whole place could’ve went,” he said. “I don’t think it’s safe.”

This story was originally published December 31, 2024 at 2:40 PM.